


A Dilemma At Sunrise

by soulioli



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Flowers, Modern AU, The Great Fodlan Bakeoff, The Great Fódlan Bakeoff (Fire Emblem), Twin AU, baker and florist au, f and m byleth, i don't have to choose between claudeleth and merceleth if the twins exist, m byleth has a different name, my brain: huge, there's just a bunch of aus okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:22:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26432584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulioli/pseuds/soulioli
Summary: While trying to get ready for a meeting, Claude has to find a florist's shop and a bakery that are open at six in the morning.A pair of twins might be the solution to his problem.
Relationships: Mercedes von Martritz/Male My Unit | Byleth, Mercedes von Martritz/My Unit | Byleth, My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	A Dilemma At Sunrise

If there was one thing that could be said about Claude von Riegan, it was that he tended to be early to everything. If he had a meeting at 7, he was there at 6:45, which meant that he was always out of bed an hour earlier to make sure that he looked the best that he could (and more importantly, to ensure that he had the best strategy for whatever conversation he was going into.) 

Most of the time, that was a good thing. He was always punctual and prepared, ready to do his job as an ambassador. It made him look good and made his bosses continually consider giving him more opportunities. 

But even the best things backfired. 

That was why, at precisely 6:00 in the morning in the seaside town of Derdriu, Claude von Riegan sat in his car, watching the percentage on his phone go up so that he could search the web for an open florist in his area. It was crazy, and he knew that, but today’s meeting was even more important than usual, so he had to make a good impression. Good impressions usually meant that he had to research who it was that he was meeting with (which he had) but they also meant that he went out of his way to offer a pastry and a bouquet of flowers. That usually wasn’t a problem. Usually, he would buy flowers the night before and get a fresh-baked pastry on the way from the bakery he frequented. 

And usually, meetings didn’t occur at seven in the morning. 

They were always later, at either eight or nine, which generally gave him enough time to go to an open bakery, but no one in their right mind was going to open their bakery at six in the morning. That wasn’t the only problem, either - he had done so much work last night that he woke up still at his desk, meaning that he had also been too busy to get flowers, which led to other issues. 

Claude sighed, running his fingers through his hair. The sun was slowly starting to rise over the hills, filling the car with natural light. His eyes anxiously skipped to his phone, which was still charging. (It was decently speedy, but not speedy enough.) He slowly backed out of his parking spot, deciding to take advantage of the little darkness that was left. If a shop was open, he would be able to spot it by the lights that were on inside of the shop. And, considering that his phone still wasn’t charging as quickly as he would like it to, it seemed like as good of a plan as any. 

He eyed the time on the dashboard. 6:05. 

_ Let’s hope someone’s open….. _

* * *

Derdriu was littered with small shops, ranging from jewelry stores to book stores to tailors and back again. Generally, if someone was looking to open something, this was the city to be, which also meant that there were a  _ lot _ of competing bakeries around. 

So, while he didn’t find an open florist right away, an open bakery caught his eye. Gentle light flowed from the inside, almost merging with the slow sunlight that was filling the empty sky. Inside, two figures worked in tandem. 

The first was a guy who couldn’t have been any older than him. He had black hair that seemed bluer the longer Claude studied him, paired with eyes the color of the ocean. His hair was long enough to pull back into a small ponytail, which rested at the base of his neck. In contrast to his dark hair and eyes, he wore a white shirt and black pants, overlayed with an apron embroidered with a looping symbol. His companion was about two inches shorter than him but worked just as hard. She wore the same uniform, though her short blonde hair was pinned back away from her face. Claude watched as she bumped into him accidentally, giving an apologetic smile that seemed to fluster her companion. 

He rose an eyebrow. She seemed to fluster him quite easily and had a sunnier disposition. They made a nice combo. 

He was brought out of his musings by the realization that he had been staring a bit too long, eyes skipping back to the time on the dashboard. 

6:15. 

A sigh came from his mouth as he turned the key, turning off the car and stepping out. It took around twenty seconds to get to the door, but when he opened it, he forgot to keep counting. Though the bakery looked nice from the outside, it felt like home from the inside and smelled  _ divine _ , complete with soft acoustic music in the background. 

He stared for a second before someone cleared their throat in front of him, drawing him back to earth. Claude offered a smile, studying the menu as he walked to the counter. What was the name of those pastries he was looking at last night, again? 

“May I help you?” The man asked. He stared Claude down impassively, finger poised to plug something into the register. 

“Actually, yeah,” he said, grinning. If he couldn’t think of the name right now, he could at least buy some time, right? “I need some pastries, but before that: Why are you guys open so early? I don’t think I’ve seen bread rise with the sun."

The cashier gave him a dry look. “Did you come here to get a pastry, or to inquire about my business practices? I don’t know if you remember, sir, but it’s six in the morning. Questions can wait.” 

He blinked rapidly, taken aback by what the man had said. He wasn’t rude, per se, he was just….blunt. Very blunt. It was honestly refreshing, being around someone who said what they meant. But after the shock faded, a grin surfaced. 

“It’s 6:18, actually, and I’m still getting my pastry, Grumpy. I’ve just never seen a bakery open this early before.” 

“My name’s on the nametag,” he responded dryly, tapping the tag. Claude looked down, finding that sure enough, the nametag read Samiel. He glanced back up, noting that Samiel was still staring at him as if waiting on something. 

“Is my face that beautiful, or are you waiting for me to say something?” 

He looked mildly disgusted that Claude would even suggest such a thing. “The latter.” 

“Well, how am I supposed to say what you’d like me to say if you don’t ask, Grumpy?” 

“It’s Samiel,” he sighed. “And your order, sir. I need your order.” 

He had been so interested in the cashier’s approach to customer service that he hadn’t even thought more about the mystery pastry. “Ah, well, I was hoping for your help, Grumpy - ” 

“ - Samiel -” 

“Right, right. Anyway, I need something that’s sweet and has cream in it. Maybe even a bit of frosting. There’s a specific one, but I forgot the name.” 

“So something like an éclair?” He said, face still blank. Claude mentally searched through his knowledge of sweets, stopping when he realized that he wasn’t awake enough to link the mystery pastry to a name, even if it sounded vaguely familiar. 

“Uh, what is that again?” 

Samiel let out a long-suffering sigh, moving to open the curtain and call into the work area. “Mercedes, do we have any éclairs ready?” 

The woman from earlier, who he now knew to be Mercedes, emerged from the back, smiling. “We do, they’re getting ready to go into a display case. Do you need any?” 

The blue-haired man turned back to his customer, who blinked at him. He didn’t know if he was right, but he supposed he’d have to trust the professionals. “I’ll need a half dozen if you’re right.” 

Samiel turned to her. “Get an extra as well, please. Just so we’re sure they’re what he’s looking for.” 

“Will do! Just a moment.” 

She left the two in relative silence, each standing still until Claude broke the silence. “Is she your business partner?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” he responded, tone oddly clipped. 

“Oh, then your boss? Or maybe a girlfriend?” He wiggled his eyebrows at the worker. Samiel scowled at him. 

“Do you always ask such nosey questions? Am I special?” 

“You’re not special, Grumpy. I’m just nosey. So what’s the deal? Boss? Girlfriend?” 

“That’s none of your d-” 

“Here you go, sir! Just as promised. You’ll have to forgive Sam, he can be a bit grumpy in the mornings.” 

“Aha! So my nickname was accurate.” Claude stated triumphantly. The baker glowered at him, but the expression was marred by the pink that touched his cheeks. 

“Taste it, please.” He ground out, glaring at Claude. He took the extra and bit into it as Mercedes giggled, clearly amused with the situation. That was quickly overpowered by the sweetness and the cream that filled his mouth. The éclair was  _ exactly _ what he was looking for. 

“I daresay that’s the right dessert, Grumpy. Are you a mind-reader?” 

Mercedes giggled again, which seemed to soften him a little. “Perhaps.” 

“I guess I’ll be taking them, then! Oh, and hey, I know this is weird, but do either of you know of a florist that would be open at this hour?” 

Both of the workers regarded him for a moment before answering at the same time. 

“No.”

“Yes!” 

Samiel glanced at Mercedes as if he had been personally betrayed, but that quickly faded when she continued to speak, unburdened by her companion’s attitude. “There’s one right down the street. Sam’s twin sister owns it.” 

“Oh, really?” He rose an eyebrow. “How has your sister survived all of these years, Grumpy?” 

“It’s Samiel.” He repeated. “Your total is 11.85.” 

Claude swiped his card. “Tomato, tomato. Samiel, Grumpy. What’s in a name, anyway?” 

“Sign here,” 

He did as he was told, not speaking again until the receipt was offered to him. 

“Oh, I guess that’s my cue to leave. Well, have a nice day, Samiel.” He grinned, scooping up the box. 

“You too.” 

Once the door swung shut behind him, Samiel sighed. 

“Was he really bothering you?” The blonde asked. 

He shook his head. 

“Why do you look annoyed, then?” 

“He reminds me of my sister.” The baker groaned. Mercedes smiled. 

“Well in that case, maybe they’ll get along.” 

He sighed, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. “I sure hope not.”

* * *

The florist was exactly where Mercedes had said it would be, and even though he was walking in with only thirty minutes until he had to be at the office, he felt oddly calm. 

Perhaps it was the sweet scent of the flowers hanging in the air, or the soft music playing overhead, but he didn’t think about it long. Instead of thinking his interest was piqued by the figure standing at the counter. 

She had caramel skin, and a shade of hair that was a deep pink, along with brown eyes. Under her left eye was a tattoo, one that he would have recognized from a mile away. “Petra, is that you?” 

She glanced his way, perking up when she finally recognized him. “Claude!” 

He came to a stop in front of the counter, smiling at her. “How have you been? You didn’t tell me you were in town.” 

“I am sorry!” She apologized. “Work has been giving me much busyness.” 

“It’s no big deal. Still, I can’t believe I ran into you  _ here.  _ I would love to stay and chat, but I’ve got a meeting to get to. Do you guys accept walk-ins, by chance?” 

“I believe that we do. Allow me to get my boss,” she said. Claude nodded, looking around at the shop itself. Flowers seemed to sprout everywhere, and there were even a few planters hanging from the ceiling. While the bakery felt like home, this felt like your personal garden lovingly tended to by a plant-lover. It was nice - peaceful, even - but just a little cramped. There was more space behind the counter, but waiting here, he felt like he was blending in with the flowers. 

The door swung open, snapping him out of his observation. Three figures entered - the first of which was Petra, who he noted was dressed in a uniform, like the other two. The second was a shy girl with purple hair and an odd haircut. She seemed to panic as she saw him, ducking behind her coworker. 

And the third was Samiel’s sister. 

She couldn’t have been taller than 5’5 but seemed larger than life amid the flowers around him. Unlike the other two, her uniform was a bit different. While they wore a simple t-shirt and pants combo, she wore a work-shirt with a collar and had a black apron secured around her waist. The worker’s T-shirts had that same looping symbol on the back, and the store name on the front, but her’s just had a pocket embroidered with the looping symbol. Her hair was back in a casual ponytail, but she made even that seem refined. Looking at her, Claude immediately understood that she was the boss. 

Even still, there was something about her that was soft and warm. It tugged Claude in, causing him to dig his heels in as he tried to tug himself back. She truly looked like a female version of her brother but didn’t have the same energy that he did. While he was winter, she was summer. Claude found that his mouth was oddly dry the more that he looked at her, rooted to the spot. 

Her lips turned down in a soft frown as her eyes settled on the purple-haired girl, talking to her gently. “You’re going to be fine, Bernadetta. Just trust me and stand right there, okay?”

Bernadetta’s eyes skipped to him and then back to her boss as she nodded, causing her boss to smile. “Petra, do you think you could continue that order in the back, please? It needs to be done by tonight.” 

Petra’s eyes skipped from her boss to Claude. He grinned at her. “Don’t sweat it, we can catch up later.” 

Nodding, she disappeared into the back, leaving only Claude, Bernadetta, and the very pretty florist who he didn’t know the name of. 

Well, not yet, anyway. He eyed her nametag, which read Byleth. It was no stranger than her brother’s, but he found himself morbidly curious as to how they got their names. She smiled at him, sending a strange tingling sensation shooting through his veins. He tried to ignore it. 

“What can I do for you, sir?” 

“Ah, well, I’m in a bit of a bind.” He explained. “I’ve got this important meeting to go to, but I forgot to pick up flowers last night and it starts in about -” he glanced at his watch, “Twenty-seven minutes.” 

The florist nodded, mentally calculating what she could do. “Well, lucky for you, we accept walk-ins. You want a vase arrangement, right?” 

“Unless the lady has any better suggestions, then yes.” 

“Hmm,” she eyed him up and down, a slight flush on her cheekbones. “I don’t. What do you think, Bernadetta?” 

Bernadetta’s eyes widened, wilting under both of their gazes as if she were a flower trying to grow in a crack between pieces of concrete. He watched Byleth smile at her encouragingly, waiting as she worked up the courage to speak. 

“I think a v-vase arrangement would, um, it would be nice.” 

The blue-haired woman beamed at her coworker, something that Claude had to look away from. She was much like the flowers around him - pleasant to the eye, but something he thought he would fall in love with if he looked at too long. He figured he’d try his luck with the flowers instead. 

Byleth turned back to him, ponytail swaying. “Do you have any specifications for the vase and the flowers, or do you want to leave it up to my discretion?” 

“Well, if you’re as nice as you look, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to leave it up to you.” 

A small flush took over her cheeks, making him a little happier than it should’ve. “I’ll be right back, then. Bernadetta, you stay here.” 

“W-What? I don’t think I’m ready for that!” She objected. Byleth placed a hand on her shoulder. 

“Do you trust me?” 

Bernadetta nodded. “But I-” 

“Then please, trust me when I say you’ll be fine.” 

“I-” she glanced between him and her boss once more. “Okay.” 

“Good. I’ll be right back.” 

She disappeared into the back, just like Petra had, leaving him with the least talkative person in the entire building. The worker in question eyed him, slowly working up the courage to start a conversation. 

“So, um, um, what is your m-meeting for?” 

Claude offered her a smile, hands in his pockets. “I’m an ambassador, meaning I talk with stuffy old people all day in hopes of ‘building a better future.’”

Bernadetta’s lips twitched. “Oh, I see.” 

“It’s a lot less interesting than what you do, I’m sure. Your coworker and boss seem sweet,”

She nodded. “T-They are. Byleth is helping me speak to people more, even though I don’t really want to.” 

“She seems nice,” he said. “How did you start working here, anyway?” 

“Well, um,” she shifted her weight to the other foot. “M-My friends recommended it h-here. They noticed how much I like drawing, a-and thought that flowers would be a good subject.” 

“They are.” He nodded. “Some of the most famous paintings were of flowers, you know.” 

She glanced at him. “I don’t think that’s true….” 

“Truth is arbitrary.” Claude shrugged. “Do you have a favorite flower?” 

“U-Um, no, but I think tulips are pretty nice.” 

“Hmm, me too.” 

They lapsed into silence, though it was notably more comfortable than it had been a moment ago. He studied the room around him, biting back the sense of urgency he felt. They knew his situation, and they were doing all that they could. 

That still didn’t help, but seeing Byleth step back through the door with a large vase did. She smiled at both of them from behind it, greeting them with a simple question.

“How are things going in here?” 

“Oh, we were just in the middle of a riveting conversation, weren’t we?” He winked. Bernadetta gave him a grateful smile. 

“We were.” 

Byleth seemed to believe that about as much as she believed in ghosts, but she shrugged it off. “Alright, then can you ring him out? I’ll tell you the specifics when I’m ready.” 

The other girl nodded, standing behind the register as her boss set the vase down on the counter. “Would you like a card?” 

“That depends on what number it has on it.” 

Her lip quirked. “Very funny. I meant a card for the flowers.” 

“Oh, then, I guess. Do I have to write on it?” 

“There’s no need. I’ll take care of it. Your name?” 

“Claude.” 

“Claude…” she repeated. His name felt new coming out of her mouth; exciting. He swallowed as she wrote his name with delicate strokes. “And the recipient?” 

He rattled off a name that he had vaguely remembered, too focused on what their upcoming conversation was going to be rather than the name itself. She wrote it carefully, taking care to spell it right and ensure that it looked nice. Afterward, she attached it to the vase and stood by Bernadetta, showing her how to ring it up. 

He took this chance to study the flowers, blocking out their conversation. Featured most prominently were sunflowers, facing outward as if he were the sun and they were bending to greet him. The colors were relatively simple, too, just the yellow and brown of the sunflowers, complimented by some leafy green plants and some white flowers that he believed to be daisies. Some leafy foliage stuck up, meaning that there wasn’t a perfect shape, but it added enough character and color that it would have felt wrong otherwise. The colors almost reminded him of himself. Something about it felt warm and lively, and the crystal vase it was housed in was elegant enough to be appreciated on its own but didn’t take away from the flowers. 

“Your total is 26.41.” 

He looked back up to find Bernadetta speaking to him, voice wobbly. Byleth smiled at him, showing her how to process input from a card. After handing him a receipt to sign, she gave him his copy and followed that by handing him the vase, meeting his eyes. “Have a good….” 

He waited for her to finish, but she only stared at him as if she had discovered something about him that even he didn’t know. An amused smile took over. “Am I that enchanting?” He wondered aloud. 

That seemed to break her out of her reverie, causing her to blink rapidly. “Not enchanting, just interesting.” 

“Oh? How so?” 

“If I went into it, you would be here all afternoon. Don’t you have a meeting to be at?”

Claude recognized someone dodging the question when he saw it. After doing it for so long himself, it was painfully easy to spot. 

“I do, but I’ll be back. I  _ must  _ know what’s so enchanting. Is it my eyes? I think it’s my eyes.” 

“It’s not your eyes,” she laughed. “I’ll look forward to it, but for now, you should go. You don’t want to be late.” 

“Ah, you know me so well already! Must have been the eye contact. Have a good day, ladies!” 

He carefully took the vase to his car, buckling it in and glancing into the window just in time to see Byleth drop her cherry-red face into her hands as Bernadetta awkwardly patted her back.

In the end, he was a little late, but the gifts more than made up for it. 

(And so did the look on her face, whether he wanted to admit it or not.)

* * *

“Did that guy end up coming to your store?” 

Byleth paused in the middle of unpacking their dinner, blinking at her brother briefly before sliding his portion to him. He took this opportunity to study her. She was smiling more than usual today - smiles weren’t unusual, but the frequency was a little too high for his liking. (Not that he disliked his sister being happy, mind you, it just felt weird seeing her smile over a guy that read him infuriatingly well. And he supposed he’d only seen her over the last couple of hours, but he got the feeling she’d been smiling before their reunion.) After a moment, she sat back down with her portion, unpackaging it as she responded to him. 

“Which one?” 

“The annoying one.”

She picked up a piece of beef with her chopsticks, raising an eyebrow. “That’s not ringing any bells. Got any better descriptors?” 

“He’s, uh, unique? Seems like your type.” He shrugged, opening the lid to his meal. 

“Hmm, did he have brown hair?” 

“Yes?” 

“A little bit of facial hair?” 

“If the next thing out of your mouth is ‘striking green eyes,’ I will throw myself out of this window.” 

A grin that could only be described as “shit-eating” took over her face. “Striking green eyes?” 

“For the love of the Goddess, you two are the same person.” 

Byleth laughed, settling into silence 

“So, what did you think?” 

“He seemed sweet,” Byleth replied, digging her chopsticks back into the takeout container. Samiel eyed her. 

“He gave me a nickname.” 

“I’m sure it was an accurate one.” 

“Really? So the nickname ‘Grumpy’ is accurate to you?” 

“Yes, actually,” she teased, laughing at the way her brother’s face dropped. 

“Well, if you like him so much, you might as well marry him,” He responded, digging a fork into his fried rice. 

“Maybe I will,” she giggled, knuckle against her lips. “Then you’ll have to see him all the time, and you won’t even get a break on holidays.” 

“Goddess, I’m sorry I even suggested it.” He said through a mouthful, scowling. 

The resulting laugh was just enough to get expression back into neutral territory, carrying on their conversation as they both thought of the stranger they had encountered today. 

Hopefully, they wouldn’t (or would?) see more of him. 

**Author's Note:**

> woah, hi fire emblem fandom! i'm back with some modern aus because i live for em! 
> 
> a couple quick things:   
> samiel - he's got all of the grumpy byleth side, byleth herself is pretty playful and has lots more of the glimpses of emotion we see. he's named after samael, who is a Bad Dude, but byleth is named after beleth, who is an Even Badder Dude, so there's that  
> pairings - i like merceleth and claudeleth. sue me!   
> claude - he's pretty serious at work all the time, so he has fun where he can. samiel gripes but he likes going back and forth with customers who don't get offended at him. claude likes harassing people and also byleth.  
> designs - i think i specified pretty decently, but assume everyone is post-timeskip designs, barring the clothes!
> 
> i really hope you guys like this!! i worked really hard on it and would love to hear some feedback. of course, if i got anything wrong, please feel free to let me know of that as well. i kind of left this open but i also closed it up pretty decently, so i might come back to it if you guys like it enough! 
> 
> thank you so much for reading!!! have a wonderful day/night :)


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